The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, is a landmark international agreement that aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. The agreement is intended to be a framework for global action on climate change, and it requires all signatories to regularly report on their progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
As we near the end of 2020, it is a good time to take stock of how signatories to the Paris Agreement are doing in regards to meeting their climate change commitments.
As of November 2020, 189 countries have ratified the agreement, including all of the world`s major economies. The United States, which was the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, withdrew from the agreement in 2019. However, President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the agreement on his first day in office.
According to the Climate Action Tracker, a consortium of research organizations that tracks countries` progress on climate action, no country is currently on track to meet the Paris Agreement`s goal of limiting global warming to below 2°C. However, several countries are making significant progress, particularly in the area of renewable energy deployment.
For example, Denmark, Sweden, and Morocco are all on track to exceed their 2030 renewable energy targets, while India has achieved its 2022 target for installing solar capacity four years early. China, the world`s largest greenhouse gas emitter, has also made significant progress in reducing its emissions, and is currently on track to exceed its Paris Agreement targets.
However, many countries are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, and their progress towards reducing emissions is slow. Australia, for example, is one of the few developed countries that has not set a net-zero emissions target, and its emissions are projected to continue to rise.
Overall, while progress towards meeting the Paris Agreement`s goals is slow and uneven, there are some encouraging signs that countries are taking climate change seriously and making significant investments in renewable energy. As we move into 2021 and beyond, it is important that countries continue to work towards reducing their emissions and meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.